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Rwanda marks 20 years since genocide

Kigali, Rwanda

A wailing and distraught Rwandan woman, one of dozens overcome by grief at recalling the horror of the genocide, is carried away to receive help during a public ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, at Amahoro stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, April 7, 2014.

Sorrowful wails and uncontrollable sobs resounded Monday as thousands of Rwandans packed the country's main sports stadium to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of a devastating 100-day genocide.

Mybo, Rwanda

People worship during a Sunday service at the Chapel Mbyo on the eve of the anniversary of the 1994 genocide, in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Rwanda is commemorating the 20th anniversary of the country's 1994 genocide, when as many as 1,000,000 ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutus were slaughtered over a 100-day period.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Thousands of people gather at the Kicukiro College of Technology soccer field to commemorate the 2,000 people who were abandoned by United Nations troops during the 1994 genocide, in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

On April 11, 1994, Belgian paratroopers who were part of the UNAMIR mission were ordered to leave the school grounds, abandoning the people to the national police and Interahamwe militia, who lead their victims to a garbage dump and slaughtered them.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Ophelia Nyiramagumeri holds a rosary given to her by her nephew who was killed in the 1994 genocide, while gathering with thousands of others at the Kicukiro College of Technology to commemorate the 2,000 people who were abandoned by United Nations troops during the 1994 genocide, in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Family photos of victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide hang inside the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Family photos of victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide hang inside the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Rwandan President Paul Kagame looks on at the president's office in Urugwiro Village, Kigali, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Kigame led a rebel Tutsi force from a neighboring country to help stop the slaughter in 1994.

Credit: Evan Schneider/UN via Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

A man leaps and dances while leading worshipers during a Sunday service at the Chapel Mbyo on the eve of the anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

Fredrik Kazibwemo, 45, stands in the doorway of his home in a genocide "reconciliation village" in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Fredrik served eight years in prison for killing nine people during the country's 1994 genocide.

After moving to Mbyo, Fredrik said he was surprised when a neighbor who survived the killing offered to help pay his childrens' school fees, beginning a cycle of friendship.

Organized by the Prison Fellowship Rwanda in 2004, this village of 285 is where those who served time in prison for genocide now live side-by-side with people who survived the killer's 1994 rampage.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

Jaqueline Mukamana weaves a thread and grass basket in her home in a genocide "reconciliation village" in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Jaqueline's five sisters, two brothers and four uncles were killed during the 1994 genocide and she was left destitute.

She was offered a home in Mbyo if she agreed to live near people who had commited the killing. At first she was apprehensive but when her new neighbors offered to help her recover her family's remains she was able to forgive them.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Family photos of victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide hang inside the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Family photos of victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide hang inside the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

A woman is comforted during a commemoration ceremony for the 2,000 people who were abandoned by United Nations troops during the 1994 genocideat at the Kicukiro College of Technology soccer field in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Men line up before marching to commemorate the genocide of 1994 at the Kicukiro College of Technology soccer field in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

People gather to commemorate the genocide of 1994 at the Kicukiro College of Technology soccer field in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Rwandans sing and pray at the Evangelical Restoration Church in the Kimisagara neighborhood of the capital Kigali, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

Kigali, Rwanda

Members of the congregation pray during a Sunday morning service at the Saint-Famille Catholic church, the scene of many killings during the 1994 genocide, in the capital Kigali, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

Mybo, Rwanda

Anasitasia Nyirabashyitsi is the head of her weaving cooperative in a genocide "reconciliation village" in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Before they were married, Anasitasia said her husband helped hide her family during the 1994 genocide, but did kill other Tutsis in neighboring villages, for which he went to prison. They were married after he served eight years.

One of five communities like this in Rwanda, Mbyo residents share agriculture and handicraft cooperatives and say that working together has helped with reconciliation, easing their apprehension and fostering new friendships.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

Jeanette Mukabyagaju, 35, poses in her home in a genocide "reconciliation village," in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Seven members of Jeanette's immediate family were killed in the 1994 genocide and she was apprehensive about moving into this planned village eight years ago.

But when her new neighbors, people who had been in prison for genocide, wept while asking for forgiveness, she was comfortable about living in Mbyo.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

Jeanette Mukabyagaju, 35, stands in the doorway of her home with her daughter Natasha, 3, in a genocide "reconciliation village" in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014 .

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

A young woman stands in an opening of a hedgerow of a genocide "reconciliation village," in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Dressed in traditional gowns, women line up before marching to commemorate the genocide of 1994 at the Kicukiro College of Technology soccer field in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

Children are ushered out of the Chapel Mbyo in the middle of Sunday worship on the eve of the anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Nyamata, Rwanda

The skulls and bones of some of those who were slaughtered as they sought refuge inside the church, are laid out on shelves in an underground vault as a memorial to the thousands who were killed in and around the Catholic church during the 1994 genocide in Nyamata, Rwanda, April 4, 2014.

Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

Kigali, Rwanda

A wailing and distraught Rwandan woman, one of dozens overcome by grief at recalling the horror of the genocide, is carried away to receive help during a public ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, at Amahoro stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, April 7, 2014.

Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

Kigali, Rwanda

Dressed in traditional gowns, women line up before marching to commemorate the genocide of 1994 at the Kicukiro College of Technology soccer field in Kigali, Rwanda, April 5, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

Genocide survivors Anasitasia Nyirabashyitsi (L) and Janette Nyirhkamana weave grass and thread bowl at home in a genocide "reconciliation village" in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kigali, Rwanda

Performers mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, at Amahoro stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, April 7, 2014.

Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

Mybo, Rwanda

Jaqueline Mukamana weaves a thread and grass basket in her home in a genocide "reconciliation village," in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.

Jaqueline's five sisters, two brothers and four uncles were killed during the 1994 genocide and she was left destitute. She was offered a home in Mbyo if she agreed to live near people who had commited the killing.

At first she was apprehensive but when her new neighbors offered to help her recover her family's remains she was able to forgive them.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mybo, Rwanda

People worship during a Sunday service at the Chapel Mbyo on the eve of the anniversary of the 1994 genocide, in Mybo, Rwanda, April 6, 2014.